Cheap Eats - Le Triskell French Creperie

A taste of France in Buckhead

FOOD GROUP: A charming petite crêperie, sandwicherie and more.

MEAL PLAN: Before settling in Atlanta, French natives Michel and Rose-Marie Knopfler had three award-winning French restaurants in Hong Kong. However, the 1998 financial crisis and resulting business closures prompted the Knopflers to let their leases end and sell their interest in the restaurants. Rose-Marie often visited Atlanta for seminars and met friends who urged her to move her family here and open a French restaurant. The Knopflers started small with catering and deliveries, but soon decided to branch out into a little storefront selling crêpes and other French specialties.

OUTTA SIGHT: Le Triskell is the epitome of a hidden restaurant. It’s tucked inside the Tuxedo Atrium, a small building housing a mishmash of businesses, including a dentist, a salon and a tiny health club. If you have time on your hands, enjoy a meal at one of the bistro tables inside the sunlit atrium and amuse yourself with the steady stream of people that filters in. It’s theater of the living at its best.

THE SAVORY: Since Rose-Marie is from Bretagne, the birthplace of crêpes, Le Triskell offers many different versions. The galettes – traditional gluten-free crêpes made with buckwheat flour – is a vehicle for savory crêpes such as La Complete, a gooey ham and Swiss crêpe topped with a perfectly fried egg. The baguettes are baked throughout the day using par-baked loaves from Marietta-based Le Petit France because, according to Michel, “bread that is already baked in the morning is not fresh in the afternoon.” The bread encases 12 traditional French sandwiches such as Le Parisien, featuring French ham, Swiss cheese, cornichons and a touch of soft butter. A pristine niçoise salad with a beautifully emulsified dressing sits in the cooler alongside other perfectly composed salads.

THE SWEET: If you crave a morning sweet on the way to work, stop in and grab a crêpe filled with Nutella, chocolate maison, homemade marzipan, preserves and more. But, hey, you also can have one for dessert after a sandwich or salad. No judgment.

POLISHED PORTABLES: In addition to its sandwiches and salads, Le Triskell typically offers eight to 10 prepared French “casseroles.” They’re a lazy-night dinner or an easy way to cater – and impress – at your next picnic. Choose from an ever-changing assortment of dishes, including boeuf bourguignon, salmon in mustard sauce, baked ziti, or tomatoes stuffed with ground beef, rice and herbed breadcrumbs.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Le Triskell French Crêperie is an oasis of French charm in Buckhead with food as delightful as its hospitable owners.